Aggies sweep team titles in cross country relay race

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M claimed a pair of team victories at the Aggie Cross Country complex Friday evening during a relay-style event with Lamar and Stephen F. Austin. The A&M women totaled six points for its win over Lamar (18) and SFA (21) while the Aggie men totaled nine points to finish ahead of Lamar (15) and SFA (21).

Each team had three pair of runners comprise a relay tandem and their respective finishes combined for the team score, with first place earning one point, second place receiving two points, etc.

“It ended up being real nice conditions after the rain and lightning delay,” noted Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. “We wanted to get a fast effort in on a shorter distance and in a fun environment. Hopefully this is something we can build on. I liked it so much I’d personally lean towards doing this every year.”

Six points for the Aggie women came from a 1-2-3 sweep of the top three places. Karis Jochen and Hillary Montgomery finished first overall with a combined time of 27 minutes, 49 seconds over the 8.4 kilometer course. Jochen supplied splits of 6:45.55 and 6:59.58 for each of her 2.1 km loops while Montgomery posted splits of 6:53.08 and 7:01.82.

“The course runs a bit fast, especially the first part that goes downhill, and they did a really nice job getting out aggressively,” McRaven said of Montgomery and Jochen. “They kind of started off where they left off with their best running at the end of the track season. I was really pleased with their effort and how they looked. It was good to see them run so well.”

The second place unit for A&M included Melanie Enriquez and Grace Fletcher (29:38.34) while Laura Craig and Devin Norton (30:06.78) combined for the third place squad.

In the men’s race the Aggies and Lamar alternated the top four places with A&M claiming first and third as the Cardinals finished second and fourth. The Aggie tandem of Ryan Teel and Colin Stoeber secured the team victory by placing fifth overall while Lamar’s third crew placed ninth.

“The men had some people to compete with and they all got their legs turning over faster than they’ve done anything so far in training the past couple of weeks,” noted McRaven. “That should help us down the line.”

Texas A&M’s winning men’s squad included Isaac Spencer and Cameron Villarreal, who combined for a time of 36:38.50 on the 12.6 km distance over Lamar’s combined time of 37:05.34. Spencer supplied splits of 5:58.60, 6:03.69 and 6:09.56 on his three 2.1 km loops (6.3 km) while Villarreal turned in splits of 6:02.57, 6:07.85 and 6:16.15.

The Aggies third-place tandem included Austin Wells and Ryan Miller who combined for a time of 37:09.82 ahead of Lamar’s 37:12.99 in fourth place. A&M’s fifth-place crew of Teel and Stoeber clocked 37:56.58.

A&M women also had duos place fourth, sixth and eighth, but didn’t figure in team scoring. The tandem of Ashley Chamberlain and Amelia McElhinney (30:17.51) finished fourth with the pairing of Haley Deakins and Katherine Pia (30:28.67) in sixth. Hanna Galloway and Rachel Williams (30:45.98) placed eighth. Placing 11th was the tandem of Kelsey Persyn and Emily Willingham (31:04.19).

Also competing for A&M men, finishing in 6-7-8 non-scoring places, were Colin Slattery and Julian Castellano (38:25.41), Austin Geerts and Elliot Farris (38:33.87) as well as Aaron Murray and Brett Schmit (39:42.43).